Janet Macpherson began studying ceramics at Sheridan College in 1999 while living in Toronto, Ontario.  For six years she maintained a studio practice in Toronto, making functional ceramics, participating in exhibitions, and selling her work at various Toronto galleries.  

In 2008 she began her MFA in ceramics at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio where she explored a more figurative approach to ceramics.  She has shown her new work extensively in exhibitions across Canada and the United States.

Janet held an artist-in-residence/faculty position at Sheridan College in the 2012 Fall Semester, and was an artist in residence at the Harboufront Centre in Toronto from 2011 - 2014. In 2013 she was the recipient of the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, given by Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, Ontario, and in 2014 she was artist in residence at the Zentrum Fur Keramik in Berlin, Germany.

In 2016 Janet was commissioned by the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto to create a solo exhibition that responded to Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation. A Canadian Bestiary opened February 2017.

Janet has work in the collection of the Gardiner Museum of Ceremic Art in Toronto, ON, and the Burlington Arts Centre in Burlington, ON. She lives and works in Hamilton, ON.